


Birds of the night

by lastflyinggrayson



Category: Batfamily - Fandom, DCU, Jason Todd - Fandom, Under the Red Hood, batfam - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-01-05 08:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12186303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastflyinggrayson/pseuds/lastflyinggrayson
Summary: Leanne lives a quiet, lonely life, which lacks every kind of action. At least this was like this until now. However, a life-changing moment turns her life upside down and unleashes what she tried hard to hide from the world...A book which leads you to the world of crime-fighting in Gotham through the eyes of a winged girl who meets the famous anti-hero, the Red Hood.





	1. A strange way to escape

Leanne Winchester could seem like an average girl to everyone who didn't know her well - so to actually everyone. She talked few at school, she didn't really make friends to any of her classmates. She spent most of her free time at the Library of Gotham with her only true friend, Sarah, who was a librarian. If someone would have been looking for her, she would've been found her curled up behind a high stack of books. It was the same at the start of our story. It was a grey, overcast Wednesday and the school ended earlier because of some festivity. Leanne was at the library in the beginning of the afternoon, she was re-reading her favourite book, Eragon. Sarah was bored turning the pages of a magazine while sitting at her narrow dark desk - today she didn't want to chat. The hours flew away like minutes for the reading girl who was brought back to reality by the voice of her friend.

"Leanne?" she said, a bit hoarse because of the long silence. "It's late, darling. I know you would stay longer but I have to close."

After a short saying goodbye, Leanne stepped out into the dark night. The rain has already stopped but the narrow stone stairs were still wet and slippery under her feet. Leanne tightly grabbed the straps of her backpack and got going with the longest steps she could make. She knew she had to hurry because Gotham was quite a dangerous place at the daylight, not to mention the nights. The white blouse and the blue skirt she was wearing got creased by the long sitting, and her shoes have been too small for her for months. She didn't want anything else just to get home the earliest possible and eat a big portion of the pasta her mother would cook.

She stopped at a corner for a moment. On her right was a narrow alley where she could cut off the journey. It wasn't a very safe decision but the small street looked empty. She decided quickly, inhaled the scent of the rain, and her legs were already getting her through the wet, full-of-trash, muddy street. In her hurry, she forgot there was a filthy little square at the middle of the alley which was light by a lonely street lamp. She wasn't alone. Four men were examining the content of a large green trash bin. They were just as filthy as the alley. They could have heard the noise her shoe made on the ground when she stopped because they all turned their ugly faces towards her.

\- Nocsak, csibém - mondta egyikük, dohányzástól reszelős hangon,- mi van a táskádban?

"Oh, look, what's in your bag, darling?" asked one of them on a creaked voice.

Leanne wrapped her hands more tightly on the straps like her life depended on them. She started to back off slowly. However, she couldn't get off this easy, she didn't want the situation to end in violence. Her skirt controlled her movements but it wouldn't cover anything if she kicked one of them.

The four men were dangerously close and the girl was sure she wouldn't be able to run fast enough to get off. She slowly reached the point where running away wasn't an option. She couldn't back anymore.

"So what's in your bag, sweetheart?" asked an other bristly man who was wearing a green cap.

"No-nothing" answered Leanne quietly, her lips dry of the panic. "I don't have money."

"Well, well" babbled the first one. "I'm sure we could find somethin' there."

"Let me go!" the girl shouted suddenly when they were in reach. "I have nothing you would be interested in!"

Then the muggers attacked. One caught her arms before she could react, an other lifted her up by the strap of her backpack. At this moment unbearable pain shut into Leanne's back which brought tears to her eyes as she screamed. She was wrighting and she tried to break free but she couldn't. The mugger managed to grab the zip and he opened the bag.

However, he didn't get far because a red-brown flash took him to the ground moments later. The ones still on their feet looked up at the sky but they couldn't see anything. Then a mugger fell over with a painful yell. There were only two left. One tried to catch Leanne but the girl was quicker. She ducked, hit the man's stomach twice and sent him to the ground with a kick to the knee. The other mugger was more prepared. Leanne wanted to duck under his arms when the dark shadow appeared behind him and knocked him out. The man fell over silently. The saviour - the dark shape - didn't move, only two white stripes were glowing in his face where his eyes were. The girl felt pointless anger towards him.

"I could've handled this" she said coldly while she tried to close the backback without moving it away from her back.

" Yeah, I guess this is why you let them keep hugging you" answered a smooth, cold but interested voice of a young man. The stranger took a step towards Leanne and got into the light of the lamp. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and a tight shirt with a red bat on it. His face was hidden behind his huge red mask. Leanne instantly knew who he was: the infamous crime fighter, the Red Hood.

"Oh, you don't have to be so amazed," he said when Leanne didn't answer. "So what does a beautiful girl like you do in a dark alley long after sunset?"

"Stop it!" she snapped angrily. "I don't need your stupid womanizer talk you get ladies with."

" Oh, I thought it was working. Or at least funny," the Red Hood backed out. "You know most of the girls like anti-stress chatter."

"I believe I can say I'm not 'most of the girls'."

 

Leanne turned away and started off quickly. She got something more in her mind so she turned back to shout at the boy. To her surprise, he was right behind her. She didn't stand a chance to hear his quiet steps.

"And next time," she said she half-whispered and pointed her finger at his chest "don't horn in something you shouldn't. Not all need your bravado."

She left the speechless Red hood behind and left the alley. She looked back at the corner but she could see his shape as he jumped on a rooftop.


	2. What you give

The next few days were quiet. The weekend came and Leanne still hadn't told her mother about that last incident with the Red Hood. She tried not to even think about it because she still felt a mix of fear and anger every single time her thoughts wandered around those memories. Even if her mother noticed something of the daughter's silence, she believed it was because of the event of the next two weeks. Although she didn't really care about it since she was preparing for two-week series of conferences. On top of this, the library also closed for a week, as they were doing some stock-taking. Leanne decided to spend her free afternoons focusing on fighting.

Only a few people knew that she'd been doing a Japanese martial art called ju jistu since the age of eight. It prepared her for every possible attack in street-fights - and she learned how to block them, of course. Her trainer was a middle-aged man, Daniel Brooms, who she called Dan since a young age. The master thought Leanne had a huge gift of talent, even with her strange abilities. This is the secret she protected the most: from her back grew a pair of feather-coated brown wings, which have become even bigger as she grown; they could have even lifted her whole body up. However, her mother forbidden it strictly, and the flat was way too small for a teenage girl to fly. At least she didn't have to hide her wings at home. During the day, she folded them into her backpack through a hole - all of her clothes had those holes on their backs - but at home, she could move them as freely as her hands or legs. They were just as a part of her body language as anything else; when she was thinking, she always drew light-headed circles into the air. Leanne didn't mind she was else, she minded that she couldn't be truly free.

The week passed almost without no action, until Thursday. She trained one and a half hours every day with Dan, she wrote her homework and cooked or watched movies in the evening while talking to her mum, July on the phone. The woman was in her early forties and had lovely brownish red hair which flew into her face from her loose bun. Her face was striated by a few lines because the loss losing Leanne's father caused. He was the victim of a disease after a long-lasting fight.

On Thursday Leanne almost ran away from school. Her classmates loved to spread bad rumours about her - if they couldn't get to know her, they would invent something. Most of the time she tried to ignore them but sometimes it really hurt her. Fighting back tears, she slowed down - avoiding that alley from far away - when she heard strange noises like something big was crashed on the ground. She almost ran away but in the next moment, two huge men in black and red costumes rushed out from a narrow street. They seemed to have fun, but they were in hurry - Leanne ducked behind a trash bin at the last moment, so they couldn't see her.

"Hah, we took care of the Red one, didn't we?" laughed one in a hoarse voice when they passed the girl and the bin.

"He won't try for a while" the other one answered meanly. "Mr J. will be pleased that we took care of the Hood. The kid annoyed him for quite a while."

The two men left and Leanne felt like her stomach was made of steel. She had a terrible suspicion and she entered the alley after a short thinking. On top of some bags lied a beat figure with their limbs apart. He was bleeding from multiple wounds, and the mask which was hiding his face was broken and missed a few pieces. The boy was still conscious but he didn't move when Leanne arrived. He looked terrible. Leanne's wings moved anxiously in her backpack and she clenched her fists. Despite her wrong feeling about the Red Hood, she couldn't leave him alone. He couldn't have left on his own, and those men could've come back any minute to finish their work. Fortunately, she took some first aid lessons with Dan.

"Hey. Um... Can you stand up?" she asked diffidently.

He made a weak movement. Lenne decided it was a 'no' and she stepped beside him. She grabbed him under his arms and took the Red Hood on her shoulders.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked half-conscious. Ther was no sign of his arrogant and energic voice from last time.

"Home. My mum isn't there yet and I've learnt first-aid." This seemed to calm him down, as he didn't say another word.

The walk took her an average of ten minutes, but now it was at least twice as much because Leanne had to lift almost the whole weight of the boy. When they finally got to the elevator she was covered with sweat and her arms were in pain. She stuck the stunned kind-of-hero into the lift and pressed the button for the fourth floor. She was rummaging in her bag for a while upstairs, but she managed to find her keys and open the door. She dragged him into the living room and put him on the sofa which she covered in towels. She grabbed the first aid kit from the bathroom and then sat on a pouffe next to the sofa. The guy looked better now, he managed to catch his breath.

"Okay, um... Hood" she started. It was disturbing that she couldn't normally address him. "Well, at first I have to clean your wounds." She moved her arms to get the Hood off of his head when he inhaled sharply.

"Okay, then not those. But you really have to unwear this coat" she waved at his tattered leather jacket.

The hero took the jacket off then stopped, his hands on the neck of his tight armour-top.

"You'll have to help me with this one, 'cause I can't lift my arms enough" he said in a hoarse voice with some of last time's waggishness. Leanne would have sworn he was smiling under the hood. She stepped beside him and carefully lifted the top off his head while taking the biggest possible distance.

"You blushed" the Hood noted. "Do you like me?"

"Shut up!" she said between her teeth, but she was secretly happy that he was feeling good enough to be annoying.

The boy's - he was clearly young, at most a year older than Leanne, so he was about 18-19 years old - body mas quite muscular and covered in white scars and red wounds varying in size. Leane carefully cleaned them with some cotton wool and disinfectant. They weren't deep, the skin tore up because of the punches, not thrusts. There was only one big wound on his back which needs sewing, but Leanne had all the knowledge she needed: Dan didn't play games with teaching.

The process was long and painful, so Leanne tried to distract the boy with talking.

"Who were those men, by the way? They were talking about some 'Mr J.' when they left"

"J?! I knew all along!" he shouted.

"Red... I mean, Hood... Dang it! This is really uncomfortable. I thought it wouldn't be that bad if you told me your first name because I don't know your face and I couldn't find out who you are. Or you can come up with a name which we can use while-"

"I'm Jason" he interrupted the confused words. Leanne could hear he was smiling. "But you didn't tell me your name either."

"Right. I'm Leanne Winchester. Who's Mr J.?"

"Joker. I'm sure you'he heard of him before" he said bitterly. " and those men are his myrmidons. They were checking on a distributor when they found out I was listening."

"I know who he is" she said while cleaning a big wound on his shoulder. "So he's doing drugs now?"

"No... Ouch!" he inhaled sharply when Leanne did an uncareful move. "Bombs. He hides them in kids' toys. I don't know where he wants to use them, but this might end really badly"

She finished cleaning and only one thing was left. She gave analgesic to the boy and carefully stitched the large wound on his back. It required four stitches; Jason bit his fists every time to avoid shouting out loud. She felt her heart break for him, but she knew this was the only way to help him.

"Your face... How is it?" she asked, sitting next to him. They both calmed down after the stress and pain. Judging from the condition of the hood, his face must have been injured pretty badly.

"Well, it hurts on a few spots" Jason admitted hoarsely. Leanne thought this suited him quite well. "But I don't want you to..."  
"Can you walk?" she interrupted. She was talking kindly but it secretly pained her that he didn't trust her.

"Yeah, I think I'll be able to" he answered confusedly.

Leanne gave him cotton pads and some disinfectant. He stood up and followed her into the corridor.

"This is the bathroom" she opened the door. "Take care of it, I will tidy up outside."

At the sink, she cleaned and fertilized all tools and she threw the bloody cotton pads down the garbage chute in a plastic bag. She hurried back into the flat but Jason wasn't done yet. She didn't want to sit without doing anything so she started making some tea. She was sure Jason wouldn't drink it but it would be useful for her. The tea was ready and she was thinking about checking on him when the door of the bathroom opened and the kind-of-hero slowly walked out.

"Thank you, Leanne" this was all he said as he headed to the main door.

"What?! I just stitched you up, you can't go out now! You need to rest!" she yelled incredulously.

"I'll be careful. But I can't stay here. I would put you in danger" he said quietly. Leanne sighed.

"Okay. But your first thing to do will be to find a safe place and spend twenty-four hours in bed" she ordered, her voice made it clear that she wouldn't accept any excuses.

"Aye, doctor" Jason answered, clearly smiling to himself. Then he got into the elevator and pressed the button of the roof. Someone may collect him from there. Leanne stood in the door for a long time, looking at the exact place he disappeared.


	3. Will be given back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a chapter full of action, I really enjoyed writing it! Have fun!

Friday went quite okay. Leanne's classmates calmed down, no one was coming at her with last day's rumours. This was surprising as it often took a few days until the storm stopped. She didn't really care about it, and she tried to relegate yesterday's happenings from her thoughts. Drawing was the only way to survive that day. Everyone who reads a lot unwillingly falls in love with fictional characters, imagines and creates them feature by feature. Leanne wasn't super talented at this, but she learned fast; she could already draw quite nice ones. The only piece of the day was a full page dragon, elaborated to the last scute. He was flying high in the sky, enjoyed how the wind rushed over his face and the sight of clouds below him. She was pleased with it, he was well-proportioned. She didn't realize that she was staring at the dragon for at least ten minutes, thinking about how would it feel to fly as freely as him.

The sharp sound of the bell dragged her out of these thoughts. She shook her head, packed her bag and hurried out of the classroom. She pressed herself through the crowded corridor and sighed as she reached outsides. She got going, not home, but to the library. Sometimes they finished stock-taking earlier and opened in the afternoon. As she went on, Leanne carefully checked all corners, unwillingly looking for a red flash. She stopped for a minute to scold herself, then took a step again... But that didn't happen.

At first, she thought her imagination played games with her, so she blinked twice. But no. He was real. He was half running, half jumping down the fire escape on the block of flats on the opposite side of the street. Two men were chasing him as she could see. The Red Hood turned back and shot a bullet, but couldn't hit them. He got to the ground and they followed him in seconds. Three others got out from behind trash bins and surrounded him. They were all muscular men, wearing black clothes and armed with various weapons: an arsenal of guns, knives and staffs. He tried to use his guns, but one got stuck and the other one was hit out of his hands. Leanne felt anger flooding her brain like red lava. She crossed the street running, not caring about honking cars. The six fighting men didn't even notice her.

"You promised!" she yelled with a mixture of pain and anger in her voice. "You couldn't even stay put for a day!"  
The fight suddenly stopped, they all faced Leanne. This moment of pause was enough for her to make a strong move with her wings. The zip of the backpack was weak as she didn't open it too often; it gave up easily. The leftovers of the bag fell onto the ground, next to a bin. The men were back from their dismay in a moment; two of them headed to Leanne. One had a pocket knife and the other was armed with a bo staff, about one metre long. She was happy Dan showed her so many moves.

 

The one with the knife attacked first, she stabbed at her stomach. Leanne dodged left with a fast move and hit his wrist hard, so he dropped the knife. She punched his head with her elbow and fist; this hurt her, too. The other one got behind her and started to choke her with the staff. He was a head taller than her, so he easily lifted the girl up. She pulled her shoulders up and threw herself, but she couldn't break free. By the time the first one pulled himself together. His face was bloody, her fist reached his nose. He couldn't find his knife in the turmoil, so he decided to use his bare hands. Leanne froze as she saw the man running at her, and she was out of oxygen, but she waited. She took all of her power, put her feet on his chest and pushed herself away.

The tall man loosened his grip and she was able to break free. A shot rumbled and the attacker fell to the ground. The other was dizzy because of the kick, but he was attacking again. His first punch hit her stomach and she stooped. This way she avoided the next punch, aimed at her head. The pain stopped for a moment and Leanne took him to the ground with a fast move of her wing. She hit his jaw and knocked him out.

She was panting as she rose up. One of the Red Hood's enemies lied on the ground, unconscious; he shot the other one in the chest in that moment with the gun he managed to get back.  
"You shouldn't have horned in this!" he groaned angrily. "What are you even doing here?!"  
"You promised you would stay out of this!" she yelled back. "And you needed..."

 

She felt something was wrong before it happened. Jason wasn't paying attention anymore, he looked at somewhere behind her; his muscles strained. Leanne turned around just in time to see the fifth attacker, who they both have forgotten about. He was standing behind a trash bin with a gun in his hand, pointed at Jason. Leanne didn't think, she acted - she jumped in front of the boy to protect him, her back facing the enemy. Jason shouted something, but the sound of the gunshot made it unable to be heard.

Leanne used to think she knew how pain felt like. However, this wasn't similar to any of her former experiences. At first, it was in her left wing-pit, then it flooded her whole body. Warm liquid - surely blood - ran down her back as she collapsed onto the ground. Tha last thing she saw before the darkness took over, was the Red Hood running at her, holding her face in his hands.

\-------------------------------------------

Jason totally forgot about the fifth attacker. He saw as he rose from behind the bin, aiming the gun at him; and Leanne as she flew to save his life. The icy bonds of fear paralysed his muscles and burned his nerves. He jumped, but he was late. The gun was fired and the girl collapsed. He landed on the attacker's chest, pushed him to the ground. He wouldn't have had to die, but anger flooded his brain and he couldn't stop. One bullet in the head, it ended fast. He got up and hurried to Leanne. She wasn't completely awake anymore, lying on her back in an expanding puddle of blood. Her eyes were closed, blood was slushed on her pale face, her long brown hair was drenched. The metallic scent of blood filled the air and fear pervaded Jason. This mysterious girl saved his life twice in two days; he couldn't let her die here. He took bandages out of a pocket of his utility belt - he always kept some with him - and set a long known frequency on his transreciever.

"Alfred" his voice totally left him, he had to try again. "Alfred, can you hear me? It... It's me."  
He was only able to hear fizzes from the other end. Jason felt that every sign of hope left his voice as he repeated.  
"Oh, my Lord" answered an incredulous voice. "Is it possible? Master Jason?"  
"Yeah, Alfie... I... She's been shot... You have to save her...Can you pick us up?" he sounded like a child: desperate and full of fear. The coordinates reached the butler, now it all depended on him.  
"I'm on my way, master Jason" his voice was sharp from worries. "Just hold on!"


	4. While you sleep

It took Alfred three and a half minutes to get there. Jason used the time to create a small bandage on Leanne's wing. The bullet went entirely through it, leaving two bloody holes in her skin. He carefully wrapped gauze around the bottom of her wings. He loved this because it stuck to itself and didn’t need any further thing to fix it. The batmobile stopped with screeching tires next to the pavement and Alfred got out. Jason lifted her up; the bandages were already wet from blood. They had to hurry.

The butler helped to put the girl on the back seat of the car.  
"You drive" he ordered. "I'll clean the wounds while we get there." Jason didn't answer. He just sat behind the wheel and started off. The engine was roaring as they flew through Gotham's streets. He felt panic rising in his chest and drove even faster. When they reached the Wayne Manor and took Leanne out of the car, the wounds looked better. Jason took her moveless body in his arms like a princess, and entered the Manor. They went into the drawing room, and to the Batcave through the grandfather clock.  
“Where’s… Is he home?” stopped Jason at the entrance, feeling uneasy.  
“Master Bruce is not home, if this is what you mean.He went patrolling, he’ll be away for a while.” Alfred said kindly while gesturing at the cave to move on. “But we’ve got a young lady to stitch up.”  
“Yeah, ‘course” he shook his head and walked down the stairs to the bottom of the cave. It was even bigger than he remembered, but at least it wasn’t that dark. This must have been the effect of Tim, the new Robin.

 

He put Leanne on a table and raised his eyebrows at the butler, like asking ‘What can I do?’.  
“I will take care of the lady” he said as he put some rubber gloves on his hands. Then he gave some disinfectant and cotton pads to Jason. “You just sit down and clean your own wounds.”  
Jason took them and fell on the wheeled chair next to the Batcomputer. He pulled his helmet and top off (still leaving his domino mask on) and started to dab his bruises with the liquid. While doing this, he rolled the chair next to Alfred to watch him working. He put his forearms on the table and his head on top of them.   
“Are you okay?” the butler asked, sneaking a look at Jason. He raised his brows when he saw his healing wounds from the day before.“And who’s stitched your back up?”  
“Oh, actually, it was her” Jason tried to sound careless but his voice failed him. Alfred was doing the last stitches, but now he turned to face him. He studied his face for a while, in complete silence.  
“Is she going to be all right?” Jason asked when he couldn’t stand it anymore.  
“Yes, her injuries are not that serious. How did you meet? She’s not… You know?”  
“Not a hero. I saved her from some muggers about a week ago. Just the usual thing. But it turned out she didn’t really need help”  
Alfred didn’t ask what he meant, just tilted his head.  
“She saved me twice in two days. Patched me up yesterday. And she got in a fight today to save me… She took the bullet which was meant for me”Jason told him, his voice shaking.  
"She seems like a characteristic girl” the butler said after a long inhale. "Let's find her a bedroom where she can have a rest"  
Alfred reached his hands for the girl, but Jason put his hand on his wrists.  
"Let me do it. Just show me where to go"  
The butler gave him a strange look, his eyes were glittering. Then he turned and led him up the stairs, back to the manor. He chose the room on the first floor, next to Jason's old one. It was like all the other guests' rooms. Dark walls, expensive carpet, a large bed made of dark wood and a small chest of wardrobes. There was also a door which led into a private bathroom. He put Leanne on the bed and adjusted her limbs to lie comfortably. Then he put the blanket on her. He looked at her like he was pleased with the result.  
“You can go to your room now, Master Jason” the butler said lightly. “It’s still like it used to be.”  
"I’d rather stay here, Alfie. So I can explain her it all when she wakes up" he looked at the butler with an innocent face.  
"Okay, but you have to come down when Master Bruce arrives. You need to speak to him" Alfred answered, and he didn't accept any excuses. Jason nodded and the man left the room.  
He sat there for about an hour. Alfred must have been in the kitchen, because wonderful smells filled the whole house. He followed the police news on his phone and played some stupid games to distract his mind. He looked at Leanne in every two minutes to check if she was awake. She wasn't. He started to feel incredibly bored but felt it his duty to guard the girl. He opened a book on the phone and read only two pages when the door slowly opened. Alfred was there and waved at Jason to follow him. He stood up and left the room quietly.  
"Master Bruce is here and he wishes to talk to you" the butler said, his voice a bit anxious. Batsy wasn’t in a good mood. Jason ran his fingers through his hair, thinking about what to say. They haven't met since that last incident two years ago, where he tried to make Bruce kill the Joker. He didn't succeed, of course.  
He slowed down as he walked the stairs to the Batcave. Alfred put his hand on his back as they reached the bottom. And there he was, wearing his black costume which made the bad guys of Gotham scream. He turned around as he heard their steps and took off his cowl. His mastered poker-face was on, so Jason couldn't read him. He didn't say a word, just gestured to Alfred to go a bit further away. The butler nodded and left. Now it was just the two of them: master and pupil of old times. Jason had no idea how to get through this conversation. Finally, Jason broke the silence.


End file.
